Rival tribes find common ground in South Stand to rally loud and proud

The rugby tribe went loud and proud in the South Stand. 'We're all just part of the great tribe that is rugby,' said Jordan Smiler, caught with some mates from the Penguins tens team mingling with some 'bros' from the Samurai tens squad.

This was the second sortie to Hong Kong for Smiler. 'Let's face it, as New Zealanders we all think the Wellington Sevens is pretty good, but really the Hong Kong Sevens is the best,' he said. 'We've been dancing on the bar at Carnegie's and enjoying the buzz of the bars on that whole bar strip. The scrum of Wan Chai is a lot harder than the scrum on the rugby pitch.'

The Samurai's James Wilson was draped in a kimono and revelling in his first Sevens experience. 'We've been here for nine days now and if I thought playing in the HKFC Tens was magic, the Sevens is just the icing on the cake.'

Wearing a toga, the Samurais' Hoani Matenga, added: 'This place is just so incredible. I feel like I'm living in a scene from The Hangover.'

Apart from being fans of All Black greats Zinzan Brooke and Christian Cullen, the squad unanimously agreed Jonah Lomu was their greatest influence on the pitch. 'We've all watched him on TV for years, and he made us all want to come to the Sevens when we were growing up,' Smiler said.

'Sevens has what we could term as 'kia kaha'. It means to be strong and express yourself from the heart.'